All of our full time staff have been working nonstop for two weeks now. When the earthquake hit and we realized we were all safe here in St. Marc we kind of laughed and thought, "Wow!" Then in minutes, phones rang telling us of the devastation in Port-au-Prince. For the first week those of us who were on the ground were stunned, numb emotionally, and simply lost. We began to rally but it was so enormous we were all lost as to how to respond and as days went by it only got bigger and worse.

By the second week we were non-stop busy implementing assistance, coordinating teams, and doing the job! Nights were long, going to bed at 1:00 - 2:00 am and waking up at 5:00 am unable to sleep, needing the time to do all the work.

As we enter the third week, I see a lot more groups coming together, plans formulating, long-term and short-term. I believe this coming week will be a week of transition. We want to move from crisis rescue to systems and goals based in long-term recovery. Our frontline people need healing but they will still feel the need to get back out there and deal with the challenges and there still will be some. I believe things will slowly stabilize this week and routines leading to recovery will be seen and implemented. Many people will find this difficult as it will feel like jumping off a train that is moving at 100 mph.

Please pray for all our staff and the many victims who need surgery and medical attention as it will be a crucial week, a difficult week when we will all need the wisdom, mercy, and grace of God.

Taking the High Places!

Terry W. Snow
National Director
YWAM Haiti